Although George Will hasn't gotten around yet to posing another 28 questions to the chairwarmer for Hildabeast Demoswitch's presumed nominee for president, I've sent the Waffle House 2, or 4, maybe 5, no make that 6, all right 10 questions of my own. Here are the replies I got:

1. Please select the ONE statement that most applies to you:

x I tossed my own medals and ribbons over a fence

x I tossed someone else's medals as well as my own ribbons over that fence

x I tossed someone else's medals and ribbons over that fence

x I tossed myself over both sides of every fence

_ I really like George W. Bush

2. What do you call that country you keep saying you served in?

x Vietnam

x Viet Nam

x Fonda's Funland

x Four-Month Stay

_ United States of America

_ Place where I really like George W. Bush

3. If a vote were held today to increase funding for our troops, how would you vote?

_ I'd vote for it

_ I'd vote against it

x I've already voted for it

x I've already voted against it

x I voted for it before I voted against it

x I voted against it before I voted for it

_ I'd abstain and instead say I really like George W. Bush

4. Answer 'true' OR 'false': My economic scribblings on an envelope plan involves raising taxes.

x True

x False

_ No, it's true - I really like George W. Bush

5. What is your plan for defeating the terrorists?

_ I'll fight them wherever and whenever they show up or might show up

x I'll call them "rich" and raise their taxes so they won't have much money left over to buy bombs and other icky stuff

x I'll let the UN come up with a plan

x I'll defeat them with kindness and understanding

_ I'll tell them, "Watch out! I really like George W. Bush"

6. Whom do you consider to be your political heroes? (select all that apply)

x Ted Kennedy

x Hillary Clinton

x Bill Clinton

x Tom Daschle

x Bobo T. Clown

x Mao Tse-tung

x Joseph Stalin

_ George W. Bush, whom by the way I really like

7. How many SUVs do you own?

_ I own none

_ I own one

_ I own two or more

x My family owns one

x My family owns several

x Someone named "Joe" who lives down the street and drives by my mansion house sometimes, his family owns at least one

x No one I know owns a SUV

x Only the rich and very filthy polluters own SUVs

_ There are no such things as SUVs

_ I really like George W. Bush, who to the best of my knowledge doesn't own a SUV either

8. Are you for or against a Massachusetts state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex "marriages"?

x I am for such an amendment

x I am against it

x I am neither for nor against state constitutional amendments

x I am for marriage to very rich widows

x I am against marriage to less rich women

_ If the amendment passes, I'll ask George W. Bush to marry me because I really like him

9. In your view, what kind of person is a "Catholic in good standing"?

_ Someone who has never divorced and remarried

_ Someone who isn't an advocate of abortion

x Someone who goes to church, or says he goes to church a lot

x Someone who says he's "a Catholic in good standing"

x Someone who knows Ted Kennedy

_ Someone who, as I do, really likes George W. Bush

10. If you could be any kind of fish, which ONE would you be?

_ Shark

_ Catfish

_ Bass

x Dolphin [trick question - they're mammals; don't select this one]

_ Tuna

x Duck

_ A fish that really likes George W. Bush

There will probably be 10 more questions where these 10 came from.

	8:10 AM   0

Ted Koppel's Nightslime—like Ted Kennedy's Deadocratic Party—want to make Iraq "another Vietnam" so bad they can't stand it. Doing its own part to assist al-Qaeda and the other terrorists' propaganda movement, the ABC show will cynically use the names of our heroes as a mere prop in that campaign.

'Nightline' to Read Off Iraq War Dead
By BILL CARTER
Published: April 28, 2004

In a conscious echo of a famous, Vietnam War-era issue of Life magazine, the ABC News program "Nightline" will broadcast Friday night the names and faces of every soldier killed by hostile fire since the start of the war in Iraq.

hat about Afghanistan, where many of our fallen heroes also gave their lives for the cause of Freedom? Does ABC now believe that's a "Forgotten War"?

Are accidental deaths not worthy of any mention, either? Or injuries? Apparently they're all just chopped liver to ABC.

Ted Koppel, the program's anchor, will deliver a brief introduction before reading the more than 530 names, as photographs and captions with the ages and hometowns of the dead appear on the screen. "Nightline" will not include those who died by accident and other causes because of time constraints; Mr. Koppel will barely have two seconds for each name.

Time constraints? If this was so important to them, they'd block off and preempt the time necessary to read each name for more than two seconds. They have the power to require every affiliate to carry such extended programs. But they'd rather not.

Fifteen-minute slots are reserved by the network only for Bush-bashers like Richard Clarke.

"I have always felt, and I said it when I was in Iraq last year, that the most important thing a journalist can do is remind people of the cost of war," Mr. Koppel said in a telephone interview yesterday.

You keep telling yourself that, Ted. Maybe someday someone will accidentally believe you. But don't hold your breath.

Leroy Sievers, the executive producer of "Nightline," said in a telephone interview yesterday that his inspiration for the program was a June 1969 issue of Life, which presented photos of all the men killed during one week in Vietnam.

Cynical then. Cynical now. No wonder Sievers is so "inspired" by it.

Although that issue is now remembered as a crystallizing moment for opposition to the Vietnam war, Mr. Sievers denied the program carried any political message. "There is no intended political statement," Mr. Sievers said. "If that was the intention, we would spell it out."

Nothing to see here. MoveOn.org Move along, move along.

"Spell it out"? That's rich. How about "unintended, we didn't mean to, it was just an unforeseeable accident" political statement—would you spell that one out too?

But William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, said the message was clear to him. "This is a statement with a capital S, and it's a stupid statement," he said. The program's conceit, he added, was a selective one, chosen to emphasize the controversy over the war in Iraq while neglecting to mention the casualties in Afghanistan or those killed by terrorists.

Thank you, Mr. Kristol. At least I'm not the only one here thinking about our brave men and women fighting the bloodthirsty terrorists in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq and elsewhere.

Mr. Koppel did not dispute that "Nightline" is looking for impact.

Thanks but no thanks, Ted. I-M-P-A-C-T isn't even close to a correct spelling of "intended political statement."

"You can read the headlines every day - two soldiers killed, three Marines killed - and it doesn't have the same impact as seeing one page of these photos," he said.

I see too what's always missing from those headlines on your network: How many cowardly bad guys the brave members of our armed forces permanently took out of the fight. Terrorists 530, Good Guys 15,345 on the Liberal Scoreboard™ just doesn't have the same "impact" as displaying only one side of that, now does it?

Our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen and women are fighting for a reason, Ted. Obviously, someone needs to spell it out for you, so here it is: F-R-E-E-D-O-M. Including the freedom of cynical hacks like yourself to spout off terrorist-aiding propaganda such as your show's "Here's How Well You've Done, Terrorists - Keep Up The Good Work!" episode.

"All of a sudden you look at all those young people and it really hits you."

What would really hit you, Ted (if this pro-terrorist propaganda campaign of yours had any chance of working and making politicians order our fighting men and women to retreat and withdraw from Iraq) are terrorists. But for our troops and the extraordinary jobs they're doing every day, the terrorists would be freer to make it over here and set off dirty bombs in Manhattan and slam planes into your ABC office building.

But he said "Nightline" was not taking political sides.

That was nice of you to make another attempt at spelling, Ted. But that's three misses out of three. So you're out of our Nation's War-On-Terror Spelling Bee. You can always apply again and reenter the contest next year.

"If the motivation to go to war is good, is justifiable," he said, "then the cost, whether it is 500, or 5,000, or 50,000,

Freudian slip, or just wishful-thinking on Ted's part?

is something people will accept. Should the motivation not be good, then 5 is too many."

Ted's paraphrasing Shakespeare (a notoriously bad speller, too) for us now: "Methinks I could not die anywhere so contented as in the King's company, his cause being just and his quarrel honorable. / That's more than we know. / Or more than we should seek after; If his cause be wrong, our obedience to the king wipes the crime of it out of us. / But if the cause be not good, the King himself hath a heavy reckoning to make...." Henry V 4.1.126-136.

Captain Picard™ of the Enterprise™ would be very proud.

The White House declined to comment officially. But a senior Administration official, who requested anonymity, said: "If that's what Mr. Koppel chooses to do, it's his program. We don't make program decisions for them."

"The White House mourns the loss of every soldier," the official added. "It's good that Americans that have given their lives in a sacrifice for freedom and democracy be recognized."

Meaning, we pick and choose our fights; and ours is with the terrorists and bloodthirsty mass-murderers of Americans, not with some pissant anti-Bush, anti-America, terrorist-aiding show host.

The "Nightline" program will appear just one day short of the anniversary of President Bush's declaration of an end to major combat operations, when he appeared on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln under a banner reading "Mission Accomplished."

The Lincoln's banner was for the ship itself—which had just successfully completed a record-breaking 10-month mission—not for our entire operations in Iraq.

But don't let any facts like that stand in the way of your propaganda there, Times. I'm sure the terrorists appreciate it.

Mr. Koppel said the show was not timed to mark that anniversary. "That is purely a coincidence," he said.

I said you were out of the Spelling Bee, Ted. Please leave or I'll call security and ask them to remove you from the premises.

No, technically it's not part of Opération Libérale (excuse my *vomit* French *vomit*) Mayday Anniversary Bashfest. It's tied to the ongoing leak-and-innuendo campaign that's being spearheaded by the 9-11 Anti-Bush Commission. The Dems are pushing their "This administration has failed"® meme on every front.

Trying to turn the deaths of our brave heroes into "530 failures" crosses the line. There aren't words to describe how disgusting Ted Koppel, Nightline, and ABC are with this stunt to mulch up our troop's bodies to fertilize their latest crop of Bushbash Merde.

The terrorists have a word, however. It's spelt T-H-A-N-K-S.


Update:

ABC affiliates based in Asheville, North Carolina (WLOS 13), Charleston, West Virginia (WCHS 8), Columbus, Ohio (WSYX 6), Pensacola, Florida (WEAR 3), St. Louis, Missouri (KDNL 30), Springfield, Massachusetts (WGGB 40), Tallahassee, Florida (WTXL 27), and Winston-Salem, North Carolina (WXLV 45), will not be airing Nightghoul tonight. The owner of these eight stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group, has decided to preempt it. Here's the company's statement (emphasis in original):

ABC Nightline Pre-emption
The ABC Television Network announced on Tuesday that the Friday, April 30 edition of "Nightline" will consist entirely of Ted Koppel reading aloud the names of U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq. Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for the show, the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.

There is no organization that holds the members of our military and those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in service of our country in higher regard than Sinclair Broadcast Group. While Sinclair would support an honest effort to honor the memory of these brave soldiers, we do not believe that is what "Nightline" is doing. Rather, Mr. Koppel and "Nightline" are hiding behind this so-called tribute in an effort to highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq. Based on published reports, we are aware of the spouse of one soldier who died in Iraq who opposes the reading of her husband's name to oppose our military action. We suspect she is not alone in this viewpoint. As a result, we have decided to preempt the broadcast of "Nightline' this Friday on each of our stations which air ABC programming.

We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by some. Before you judge our decision, however, we would ask that you first question Mr. Koppel as to why he chose to read the names of 523 troops killed in combat in Iraq, rather than the names of the thousands of private citizens killed in terrorist attacks since and including the events of September 11, 2001. In his answer, we believe you will find the real motivation behind his action scheduled for this Friday. Unfortunately, we may never know for sure because Mr. Koppel has refused repeated requests from Sinclair's News Central news organization to comment on this Friday's program.

Despite the moonbattalion's very expected howls of "censorship," SBG is not a government agency. It is a private corporation. Understandable that the socialist throng always manages to confuse the two.

If a Moonbat Commune Network, Inc. wanted to preempt Rightline's reading of all the names of lumber workers and drivers horribly maimed and injured by enviroterrorists who've put nails in trees or damaged logging roads, that would be its prerogative. Rightline wouldn't be posting a response like this one:

VRWC Statement on Moonbat's Decision to Pre-Empt Rightline
We respectfully disagree with Moonbat's decision to pre-empt Rightline's tribute to America's maimed and injured lumber workers and drivers which will air this evening. The Rightline broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have been attacked while working to supply the logging needs for this country. VRWC News is dedicated to thoughtful and balanced coverage and reports on the events shaping our world with neither fear nor favor -- as our audience expects, deserves, and rightly demands. Contrary to the statement issued by Moonbat, which takes issue with our level of coverage of the effects of enviroterrorism on our citizens, VRWC News and all of our broadcasts, including "Rightline," have reported hundreds of stories on enviroterrorist acts. Indeed, on the first anniversary of the maiming of a mill worker in 1987, VRWC News broadcast the name of the victim of that horrific sabotage attack. In sum, we are particularly proud of the journalism and award winning coverage VRWC News has produced since then. VRWC News will continue to report on all facets of the war in our country's forest lands and the War on Enviroterrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which VRWC News has set for decades.

Anyone who says this fictional Rightline is trying to cynically exploit the names and lives of those injured workers so it could score points for its side of the political aisle, would be right.

For a true news agency, reporting is about confirming and publishing new and relevant facts, not about making statements while trying to spin it as something else (e.g., "honoring the dead"). Let the families, groups, and organizations directly representing the dead do such honoring themselves, and then report on their events. Don't be the originators of those events. The latter isn't reporting.

	3:53 AM   0

Qlueless al-Qerry's ribbons flying through the air 33 years ago did less flip-flopping than he's doing now. To paraphrase Kris Kristofferson (who's reportedly moved by the very sight of waffles)...

F'in' Ribbons (Help Them All Lose On Election Night)

Take the ribbons from my hair
A hippie just threw them over that wall
Not lookin' where he was throwin'
Or in whose hair they might fall

Like a monkey flingin' feces
That's how he treats his country's honors
While yellin' about baby killers
Sayin' our troops were committin' those horrors

He don't care what's right or wrong
An' he won't try to understand
Let the devil take his f-ing ribbons
Lord, and stick 'em in his mouth and those of his bad-mouthin'-America friends

Democrats are dead and gone
Their tomorrow's out of sight
'Cause it's sad to be a moonbat
Help them all lose on election night

Update: Voted best song to hear on the radio while sitting in a Beltway Traffic Jam.

	9:10 AM   0

The heartwrenching story of two pals who got on off the right foot.* (Hat tip: James Hudnall)


ey, Binney, you gonna eat that corndog or what!”

“No, Dub, you can have it.”

“Thanks! That's mighty gragarinous of you.”

“Don't mention it,” Dub's swarthy companion replied, adding under his breath, “unless you can pronounce it.”

“What's that! Whadda say? You makin' fun of how I talk, again?”

“No. I was just wondering why you always fail so miserably to pronounce things.”

The panged look on Dub's face was partially hidden by his oversized cowboy hat. “Well, I was just wonderin' myself why you always fail to think that women ain't no good at anything 'cept brushing down your camels!”

The two friends burst into laughter at their old, inside joke.

“I see your--I see your point, there,” Binney got out in between guffaws.

“No you don't,” Dub exclaimed, wiping a tear away from his right eye. “But that hasn't stopped you before.”

“I--I suppose you're right.”

“Right as the day is long, ol' Binney boy,” Dub said, slapping the back of his dear old friend.

The pair's laughter finally subsided, and both fell into a companionable silence. Dub downed the rest of his beer then ordered another from the bartender who stood silently nearby, staring at both of them in equal amounts of shock and awe.

“That reminds me,” Dub told his friend after the bartender handed him his second beer, “if all the women ever do in that big sandbox you call a country is brush camels, where do they find any time to raise youngins?”

“Ah, you still don't see the wisdom of our bedouin system, my young kufr bronko buster. All you know is equal-partner this and liberation that when it comes to your females.”

“That's 'cause y'all ain't got no cacti in them deserts of yours, budda Binney. Yours are nothin' but flat, barren wasteland. Ours is full of those big sharp prickleys that can stab you good if you don't handlin' them just right,” Dub said, swaying slightly rightward on his barstool. “I've seen a man's arm swell up as big as my hat after being stuck by one.”

“You're thinking of a rattlesnake,” Binney corrected him.

“Nooss. I's talkin' about those giant cactuses that populate just about every corner of the desert we have back home.”

“Whatever.” Binney knew better not to argue with his friend after he'd gotten two beers in him. “I'll tell you what, though. If ever I'm in that wonderful desert of yours, perhaps you can show me some of those dangerous plants.”

“Plants! I thought we were talkin' about women!”

The two laughed hard again as Binney yanked the brim of Dub's hat down over his eyes.

“I can't see!” Dub cried out in terror. “I've drank so much I've gone blind!”

Binney nearly fell off his own barstool at the sight of Dub flinging his arms about wildly in the air. He grabbed both of Dub's forearms and held them firmly. “Listen! Listen, Dub. You aren't blind. Look,” Binney said, lifting the brim of Dub's hat back up. “It was just your hat.” He grabbed Dub's arms again and shook him twice.

Dub's eyes were squeezed tightly shut. “I don't believe you. You've got to get me to a doctor, man. Hurry, call an ambalulance! Ask the bartender if you can borrow the phone. Tell him it's an emerginency!”

Binney let go of Dub's arms. He lifted his right leg up then slammed his foot down hard on top of Dub's right boot.

“Hey,” Dub shouted, opening his eyes wide and looking down at the deep, new crease along the top half of his boot, “whadda do that for? That's made of genuine allimagator skin, Binney. You might've ruined it permanently!”

“Well, at least you can see, now.”

“Oh, wow! I can. I can see, Binney! Ah, man, this is wonderful. This is great. Let me buy you a beer so's we can celebrate.”

“Forget the beer, Dub. I'm really rather hungry. Do you mind if I have my corndog back?”

“Nah, go ahead, Binney. What are friends for?” Dub asked, adding under his breath, “It's cold now, anyway.”


* Screenplay based on the novel by Caulif McTerry, Bob Woodward's Feverish Dreamland and Other Fun Fables (Hernibs & Daughter Publishing Co., 2004), excerpted above by permission.

	12:46 PM   0

One issue on which al-Qerry has never flip-flopped.

JOHN KERRY has voted with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence 100% of the time.

JOHN KERRY, in 2002, received an "F" from the National Rifle Association and had a 0% rating with Gun Owners of America (www.vote-smart.org).

uote from the RNC's web site? Or from kerrywaffles.com? No. It's from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's own web page detailing the solidly anti-Second Amendment voting record of this most liberal senator ("KERRY" links supplied).

Hanoi John simply refuses to serve any waffles—or anything else—to the citizen's right to keep and bear arms. (Google bomb courtesy of Ken, Esoteric * Diatribe.) While the tyrant- and terrorist-endorsed candidate's voting record is replete with these nuanced cousins of flapjacks (which the French call "gaufre"), the former Michael Dukakis for Governor running mate doesn't think the Democrepit Party "should be the candidacy of the NRA"—the grass-roots organization whose five million members are among the mainstream of Americans who oppose Qerry and his ilk's "collective right" theory of gun ownership.

Criminals can count on Qerry's unflinching gun-control stand, too. Besides his desire to disarm only law-abiding citizens so that they're left totally at the mercy of armed criminals, he voted against the legislation offered by Senator Hatch of Utah that would've imposed strict, mandatory sentences on criminals convicted of illegal possession of any firearms. His answer to crime is "to keep policing 'smart' and community-friendly." So after you call 911 and die, some smart policemen will show up to draw really neat chalk outlines around your body and use the latest in film technology to photograph your corpse. All while wearing comforting and friendly smiles.

Oh yeah, he would work to stop all that racial profiling of criminals as well. Doesn't want to offend his constituency of criminals who have been victimized by this practice. Just a smart political move on his part.

Even the guns themselves will be smart. Each one will have a built-in database that will keep track of who has handled it by tracing the handler's fingerprint impressions left along its sensor-grid coating. If those impressions match any of the stored criminal records constantly updated through the gun's built-in satellite downlink, an encrypted code will be sent to all smart bullets within 300 yards of that firearm to "disarm" themselves so they won't be able to fire. Don't you feel safer already?

Moreover, al-Qerry would make sure that every drug offender is regularly tested in prison and post prison. How does this relate to gun bans, you ask? As every liberal from France to Massachusetts believes, only criminals who use illegal drugs illegally use guns. They should eat waffles instead.

	9:56 PM   0

“And how come we didn't do everything—everything—we could to prevent this one?”


t started off as an incredibly clear day across the eastern half of the country. I remember how intensely blue the sky was. The temperature was very mild. No strong breezes. All the makings of a perfect day.

“Then I heard someone say that a small plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I turned on the television to see the live coverage. Smoke was bellowing up from both towers then. The people on television were commenting that it wasn't an accident. They said the second plane that hit the towers was a large jumbo jet. The news channels kept showing the clip of it coming out of that clear sky before striking the undamaged tower. Then everything turned orange and black as a fireball shot out of the other side.

“One distraught woman was hurrying away from the scene as a cameraman followed her. She said people were falling out of the buildings onto the pavement.

“Then the live coverage continued of both buildings bellowing out all that smoke. The haze across New York City was getting thick. A large mass of people was trying to escape across one of the bridges. Helicopters were flying overhead. It didn't seem like I or anyone could do anything except watch both of the towers burn.

“A reporter in Washington said that an explosion was heard at the Pentagon. But they didn't have any confirmation. Some footage was shown of smoke rising above the trees.

“Then the tower that was burning from the middle visibly cracked. The camera in the helicopter showed the top half of it sliding downward, slowly at first before collapsing straight down on itself into a thick cloud of dust. Even more smoke started rising next to the remaining tower. Every channel was showing the live coverage of the attacks. Reporters said it was a terrorist organization called al-Qaida whose leader was Usama bin Laden. I never really heard of them before. Didn't know who they actually were. I knew we were at war.

“Large plumes of smoke were rising out of the Pentagon by then. Several groups of federal employers were shown evacuating the Capitol and other buildings nearby. They said they heard that another plane was coming their way.

“The last tower was still burning near its top. There was some kind of explosion that caused those upper floors to tilt toward one corner. Then they started dropping down into the building. The floors below shattered into pieces and huge pieces of them shot out as the top section crashed through them. When the cloud of debris cleared some, I could see that both towers were gone.

“A reporter said that about twenty-five thousand people worked in each tower. Some estimated that ten thousand were still inside when the buildings collapsed. The cameramen and reporters on the ground were showing the gray soot covering everything for miles around the Trade Center. Store fronts, sidewalks, rescue workers, and the people fleeing were all covered with it. Cameras in the helicopters were showing a great trail of smoke heading out over the water. The remains of the towers were smoldering. All tall buildings in America were being evacuated. All planes flying in American airspace were ordered to land immediately.

“Shortly afterwards, there was a report of a plane crash in Pennsylvania. The news people said it was one of the passenger jets we had lost contact with while it was still in the air. Someone said it was flying towards Washington.

“The live coverage continued into the late afternoon. A building next to the Twin Towers that was burning also collapsed. Into the night, people on television were telling us about al-Qaida and bin Laden, and the Taliban and Afghanistan.

“The news coverage was nonstop for about three days. No commercials. For nearly a week afterwards the coverage continued with some commercials. After about three weeks, the number of commercials returned to about normal.

“Nothing like this had ever happened to any country before. Our country's leaders were working on our response. We were going into Afghanistan to get al-Qaida if the Taliban—who was harboring them—didn't cooperate with us. We were going to work closely with the Northern Alliance there. We would fight the terrorists wherever they were and would capture or kill its leadership and members.”

“Were you scared?”

“I was. Yes.

“What scared me most was what might happen to you. We couldn't ever let this happen again. We had to stop not only those responsible for this attack but anyone like them who would wish us harm. They've been waiting for another chance to attack us—and we couldn't stand idly by and hope they would never get that chance. We had to make sure that no country that's sympathetic to the terrorists could help them out and increase their chances of attacking us again. We had to try whatever was necessary to prevent a second terrorist attack here.”

“So what happened? Why didn't we do everything that was necessary to keep the terrorists from hijacking and derailing those fast-moving freight trains inside downtown San Francisco and spilling all that toxic waste they were hauling? How come we weren't able to stop them from setting off a radiological bomb in the middle of Seattle the next day?”

“Because we hadn't done enough. We were too worried about what others would think if we took all the actions that we knew were necessary.

“So we scaled back those actions. Instead of moving forward against every possible terrorist threat, we retreated. We left the terrorists alone in the more sensitive places, letting them build back their strength undisturbed, because we weren't willing to risk going in after them and stopping them there before they got here. We sought to find diplomatic solutions with bloodthirsty cowards and mass murderers. Our resolve buckled before we could really buckle theirs. They proclaimed we had been weakened—that we were now unable to stop them from launching a second round of attacks.

“And they were right.”

“What are we going to do now?”

	5:10 AM   0

No, the Democreeps would never turn the 9+1 Against Bush commission into The Blame Game™ or a partisan hate fest.


o wonder the Dems wanted to extend the commission's reporting deadline two months closer to Election Day. Its proceedings have turned into nothing more than one long publicly-funded attack ad against the Bush administration.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which had been established on November 27, 2002, was supposed to submit its final report on or before May 27 of this year. That is, until the Dems' extension pushed that date into July—just one day after the Dhimmicrammit National Convention starts in Boston (the same city where the terrorists boarded the two planes they used to destroy the World Trade Center and kill thousands of Americans). You can bet al-Qerry's (or bait-n-switch Hitlary's) sole focus during the convention will be that report (tentatively entitled "Bush Knew and Is Solely to Blame for This Administration's Miserable Failure on 911 9-11").

Now there are rumblings in the What Liberal Press?® press about the commission's "staff reports," which our country's Fourth Estate Fifth Column is beginning to comment on as if they were the commission's own official findings—although there's nothing under Sec. 607 (Staff of Commission) or Sec. 610 (Reports of Commission; Termination) of Public Law 107-306 which authorizes the publication of staff reports or even the use of funds for making them. Of course, not obeying the law is but a mere technicality whenever it involves Dhimmicrooks.

The commission's members are supposed to be five Republicans and five Democrats. But what about its staff who are busily churning out their own statements and reports which the al-jazeernalists have been going so gaga over lately? Apparently, not many at all are currently serving in any capacity within the executive branch, and at least eight are partisan Democrats and two are pseudo-Republicans.

The staff's leaders are:

Executive Director

Philip D. Zelikow R(ino?)

Deputy Executive Director

Chris Kojm D

General Counsel

Daniel Marcus D

The rest of the commission's staff are:

Executive Secretary

Karen Heitkotter Dª. Formerly with the State Department, the National Security Council, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Deputy General Counsel

Steve Dunne. Deputy General Counsel. Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Maryland. Former litigation partner Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Former law clerk to Justice David H. Souter, U.S. Supreme Court, and Judge Stephen F. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit.

Deputy for Administration and Finance

Tracy Shycoff Dª. Administrative director for four other federal commissions, including the current U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the Commission on Holocaust Assets.

Deputy for Communications

Alvin Felzenberg. Formerly at Voice of America, after serving as communications consultant to Secretary of the Navy Gordon England. Directed the Heritage Foundation's "Mandate 2000" project on the presidential transition process, and was editor of Keys to a Successful Presidency. Held several senior staff positions with the House of Representatives.

Manager of Operations

Dianna Campagna. Former principal director of Housing and Urban Development's Executive Secretariat. Held management positions in real estate. Managed the paper flow and office systems in the White House Counsel's office and, prior to that, at the White House Office of the Staff Secretary.

Chief of Security

T. Graham Giusti. Comes to the Commission from the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence.

Senior Counsel (7)

John Farmer. Former Attorney General of the State of New Jersey and Chairman of New Jersey's Domestic Preparedness Task Force in the aftermath of September 11.

Susan Ginsburg. Former senior official in the Treasury Department's Office of Enforcement. Law clerk for the Honorable Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and worked in the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics Matters.

Barbara Grewe. Associate General Counsel GAO, working on investigations of fraud in government operations or contracts. Served as Special Investigative Counsel for DOJ Inspector General's 9-11 review. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Christine Healey D. Formerly with the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving most recently as Democratic counsel and chief of staff.

Michael Hurley. CIA officer and attorney. Served two tours at the National Security Council as director of Southeast European Affairs with responsibilities for Kosovo and Bosnia. Served in Afghanistan 2002-2003.

John Roth. Former chief, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, U.S. Department of Justice.

Dietrich Snell. Deputy Attorney General, New York, Division of Public Advocacy. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York. Criminal Division.

Counsel (15)

Scott Allan. Former special counsel to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Practice and legal studies focused on international law. Law clerk for the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

John Azzarello. Former attorney at Carella Byrne in New Jersey. Former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney's Office in Newark and a former legal commentator on Court Television Network.

Sam Caspersen. Former attorney with Sullivan and Cromwell in New York with background in international relations. Former clerk for Judge George Sprague in Cambridge, MA.

Raj De. Former litigation associate at O'Melveny & Myers and former trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. Served as a law clerk to the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Thomas Eldridge. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Coordinated federal interagency review of U.S. International Crime Control Strategy.

Doug Greenburg. Former litigation partner at Winston and Strawn and a former staff attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Former law clerk to the Hon. Alan E. Norris, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.

Dana Hyde D. Former attorney with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (London) and Zuckerman Spaeder (Washington, DC). Served as special assistant to the deputy attorney general and as special assistant to the president for Cabinet Affairs in the Clinton administration.

Michael Jacobson. Worked on FBI team for the Congressional Joint Inquiry. Formerly an assistant general counsel and intelligence analyst in the FBI's National Security Division.

Bonnie Jenkins. Fellow at Harvard's JFK School's Belfer Center. Assistant director of the State Department's Kosovo History Project from 1999 to 2001, formerly worked on the National Commission on Terrorism (1999-2000) and as general counsel for the Commission on the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Also a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Janice Kephart-Roberts R. Former counsel to Senator Kyl for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information. Conducted oversight of DOJ and INS counterterrorism activities.

Hyon Kim. Formerly with the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Office of the General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Commission on Terrorism.

Gordon Lederman. Former associate in the National Security Law and Policy Group of Arnold & Porter. Clerked for Judge Robert Cowen (3rd Circuit). Author, Reorganizing the Joint Chiefs of Staff: The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986; Co-author, Combating Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism: A Comprehensive Strategy.

Peter Rundlet Dª. Former attorney in the Political Law Group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Former associate counsel to the President and White House Fellow, serving in the Office of Chief of Staff to the President.

Yoel Tobin. Veteran attorney at the Department of Justice, working for the last seven years in the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

Serena Wille. Associate attorney in the global banking group of Allen and Overy (London) in New York City. Formerly, associate attorney at Davis Polk Wardwell.

Professional staff members (17)

Alexis Albion. PhD candidate in International History at Harvard University, specializing in intelligence history. Formerly the historian of the International Spy Museum.

Caroline Barnes. Former Senior Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Analyst in the FBI's National Security Division. Most recently on special assignment from FBI to the Department of Energy, serving as founder and Director of the Department's Counterintelligence Analysis Program.

Warren Bass. Former Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, directing the Council's special terrorism project. Author of Support Any Friend: Kennedy's Middle East and the Making of the U.S.-Israel Alliance (Oxford UP)

Mark Bittinger. A policy analyst with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) working with clients such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the U.S. State Department. Author of "Emergency Response: Police, Firefighters and Medical Personnel," in the Encyclopedia of World Terrorism: 1996-2002.

Sam Brinkley. Former marine and civil servant. Significant government experience in counterterrorism, international and domestic weapons of mass destruction preparedness, and aviation security policies.

Marco Cordero. FBI Special Agent the last seven years assigned to investigate counterterrorism matters the last four years. Formerly with the U.S. Border Patrol.

George W. Delgrosso. Former New York City Police Department Homicide Detective with expertise in investigation, intelligence gathering, research, strategic planning, and case management.

Thomas Dowling. Career foreign service officer for thirty years, with extensive experience in the Middle East and South Asia. Currently adjunct professor at the Joint Military Intelligence College.

Nicole Grandrimo. Former regional affairs officer in the Office of Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department.

William Johnstone D. Served for over 20 years as a senior Congressional staff member, most recently as senior policy advisor and legislative director for Senator Max Cleland. Formerly with the Department of Labor.

Miles Kara. Worked on the 'other agencies' team of the Congressional Joint Inquiry. Retired Army intelligence officer, who worked as a civilian in the Department of Defense Inspector General's Office of Intelligence Review from 1992 until selected as a member of the Joint Inquiry staff.

Sarah Linden. Special Agent from FBI's Washington, DC Field Office, Counterterrorism Program. Previously served as an FBI intelligence analyst working international terrorism investigations in San Francisco and at FBI Headquarters.

Douglas MacEachin. Retired career CIA analyst who left CIA in 1995 as the Deputy Director for Intelligence. Has since become a historian, publishing four books and monographs on the intelligence-policy relationship (most recently on the Polish crisis of 1980-1981, published by Penn State UP). Has just completed a classified study on the current terrorist target.

John Raidt R(ino?). Former legislative director for Senator John McCain and chief of staff for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Kevin Scheid. Currently a senior intelligence service officer in the Office of the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management. He recently served as staff director of the President's Review of Intelligence tasked by President Bush in May 2001. As a career civil servant, and prior to his tenure in the Intelligence Community, he served for eleven years in various positions within the Office of Management and Budget at the White House.

Kevin Shaeffer. Navy LT medically retired due to severe injuries sustained in the 9-11 attack on the Pentagon. Previously served on the CNO's staff.

John Tamm. Veteran Supervisory Special Agent from the FBI's Justice Task Force, Criminal Investigative Division. Specializes in review of operational and management effectiveness in investigations. Front line supervisor in Boston, MA, during FBI's investigation of the AA Flight 11 and UAL Flight 175 hijacking. Lt. Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, Retired.

Professional Staff Member and Family Liaison

Emily Walker. Former managing director and chief of staff, Citigroup. Former U.S. alternate director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and executive secretary at the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Family Liaison

Elinore Hartz. Formerly with Coldwell Banker Real Estate. Serves on Family Advisory Council, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, NYC. Widow of WTC victim.

Special Assistant

Stephanie Kaplan. Former assistant director for international security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a former associate with the Aspen Strategy Group, a policy program of The Aspen Institute.

Financial Assistant

Katarzyna (Kasia) Kozaczuk. Former investment development assistant for Southeast Europe/Caribbean Initiative at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and a former data analyst for the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, with INDUS Corporation of Vienna, Virginia.

Research Assistant

Geoffrey Brown. Formerly with the Henry L. Stimson Center's Future of Peace Operations Project.

Staff Assistants (6)

Joanne Accolla. Former assistant at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington, D.C.

Melissa Coffey. Former communications assistant at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Former Hill staffer.

Marquittia Coleman. Former administrative assistant with the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Justice.

Daniel Leopold. Recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin's La Follette School of Public Affairs. Interned at the State Department's Bureau of European and Regional Affairs, the Foreign Service Institute, and the Defense Department's Office of Public Affairs.

Lisa Sullivan. Former government affairs assistant at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Cate Taylor. Former research and administrative assistant at Emergency Corps, an initiative sponsored by the Greater New York Safety Council.

Consultants (8)

Ann Bennett. Former information control officer for the Congressional Joint Inquiry Staff.

Antwion Blount. Systems Engineer with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator/Engineer (MCSA/MCSE).

Daniel Byman. Led 'look-back' team and worked on CIA issues for the Congressional Joint Inquiry. Assistant professor of security studies at Georgetown University. Previously director for research at RAND's Center for Middle East Public Policy. Author of Keeping the Peace: Lasting Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts (Johns Hopkins UP, 2002) and co-author of The Dynamics of Coercion: American Foreign Policy and the Limits of Military Might (Cambridge UP, 2002).

Lance Cole. Assistant Law Professor at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law. Served as Deputy Democratic Special Counsel for the Senate Whitewater Committee.

Len Hawley. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, NSC Director for Multilateral Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acting).

Ernest May. Currently the Charles Warren Professor of History at Harvard University. Author of a number of books, including most recently Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France; The Kennedy Tapes; Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Policymakers (with Richard Neustadt); and Knowing Your Enemy: Intelligence Assessment in the Two World Wars. Longtime director of Harvard's Intelligence and Policy Project and Board Member for the Joint Military Intelligence College.

Lloyd Salvetti. Career CIA operations officer. Former Director of the Center for the Study of Intelligence, a CIA think tank. Taught at National War College. Served as Director of Intelligence Programs on the National Security Council.

Peter Yerkes. Former political reporter, the Bergen Record. Former public affairs officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Consultant for Technology Development

Garth Wermter. Currently director of technology at University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs and technical consultant to the Markle Foundation's Task Force on National Security in the Information Age.

Air Force Colonel and Intelligence Officer

Lorry Fenner. She recently completed a year as a Supreme Court Fellow and an assignment as the Vice Wing Commander of the 70th Intelligence Wing. She previously served on the staff of the President's Review of Intelligence tasked by President Bush in May 2001. She has also served in the Strategy Division of the Joint Staff/J5 and the Intelligence Directorate of the Air Staff as well as at intelligence operational units and Headquarters.

The libstream media is so desperate to have the commission only blame our president for the terrorist attacks two and a half years ago, that they're even grasping for any negative statements and unauthorized reports they can coax out of just its staff. They don't want to have to wait for the commission's final report because there's a chance its deadline will be pushed backed again—all the way into January of next year.

Then what would Hanoi John or B&S Hitlary have to talk about in July to distract the media from investigating their miserable failures?

	12:04 AM   0

Let's see how this works.


all me progressive, but I believe that people can find solutions to their political problems without having to resort to an election. We only need to sit down and discuss our differences and respect each other's viewpoints. That's the enlightened way to go about resolving our political conflicts.

Elections are messy. A lot of people wind up getting hurt. And you know what? In the end no one really wins. Each election just breeds more animosity between both sides, leading to even more elections and more hurt. Why can't we all just get along?

Now, I have no gripe whatsoever with our candidates. They are only doing what the party leaders order them to do. They have no choice but to obey or face drumming out of the party. They are caught up in a system that forces people to campaign and fight to win elections. It's for them and the children and our grandchildren and their children that I'm doing everything I can to stop this and every election.

The candidates should thank me and support my efforts because I'm doing this for them too. A world in which no one need ever run again in any election would be a much better place for everyone. There would be no "our" side or "their" side anymore, because all sides would be the same.

That's why I joined Quelling Unilateral Elections: Stopping Them In Our Name. We believe there should be no more elections anywhere by anybody for any reason. We can all solve our political differences through more peaceful and less costly means; and with the help of Sore Georgos' billion$, our organization is well funded enough to help change people's minds about all this electioning.

Support our candidates. Oppose the election. Won't you?

Free Mumia! Free Healthcare! Free Ice-cream!

Thank you.

	11:17 AM   0

That is, how far Democruds would go to seize power by the most illegal and reckless means imaginable. But he never knew they were willing to go so far as to put our nation's security in real jeopardy while attempting to grab more power. Until now.


residential Daily Briefings are marked "For the President Only" for a reason. Sources and methods are identified and discussed which, if made public, would jeopardize our operations and operatives working to gather crucial intelligence about knowable threats to our country. If al-Qaeda can figure out who inside that organization is supplying us with such relevant information as is contained in the PDB just released (at the whiny insistence of the Dhimmicrats) that person will face death.

Do Democrums care? Obviously not. They just want to embarrass our president so their Hanoi Boy can somehow get a rise in the polls.

Despite what these self-interested power grabbers say, there hasn't been any widespread questioning yet of their patriotism. After the way they collectively stamped their feet and squealed bloody murder to force the release of this very sensitive document, I believe there now should be.

Why should our government have to scramble to pull out operatives who are likely in the best position to help our country, just because the Democrats think they can twist around the content of a highly top secret briefing which, in the end, does them no good?

By the way, Dems, bin Laden says thanks a lot for saving him all that trouble of trying to figure out how he can close in on those operatives. Now that you've forced our government to alert him to their existence.

Terrorists like bin Laden want to kill all of us. But Drippocrats are befriending him with acts like this. The question is not whether they are behaving unpatriotically. Rather, it's are they patriots at all?


Below is the full text of that PDB dated 6 August 2001, along with an image of the first of its 1½ pages. (Source: "Text of Bush's Aug. 6, 2001, Intel Brief," Associated Press, April 10, 2004.)

The text of a declassified presidential daily intelligence briefing from Aug. 6, 2001 made public on Saturday by the White House. Portions marked "Hanoi John F'in' al-Qerry" were blacked out before release.

Declassified and Approved
for Release, 10 April 2004

Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US



Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the U.S. Bin Ladin implied in US television interviews in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and "bring the fighting to America."

After US missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1998, Bin Ladin told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington, according to Hanoi John F'in' al-Qerry service.

An Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) operative told an Hanoi John F'in' al-Qerry service at the same time that Bin Ladin was planning to exploit the operative's access to the US to mount a terrorist strike.

The millennium plotting in Canada in 1999 may have been part of Bin Ladin's first serious attempt to implement a terrorist strike in the US. Convicted plotter Ahmed Ressam has told the FBI that he conceived the idea to attack Los Angeles International Airport himself, but that Bin Ladin lieutenant Abu Zubaydah encouraged him and helped facilitate the operation. Ressam also said that in 1998 Abu Zubaydah was planning his own US attack.

Ressam says Bin Ladin was aware of the Los Angeles operation.

Although Bin Ladin has not succeeded, his attacks against the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 demonstrate that he prepares operations years in advance and is not deterred by setbacks. Bin Ladin associates surveilled our Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam as early as 1993, and some members of the Nairobi cell planning the bombings were arrested and deported in 1997.

Al-Qa'ida members - including some who are US citizens - have resided in or traveled to the US for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks. Two al-Qa'ida members found guilty in the conspiracy to bomb our Embassies in East Africa were US citizens, and a senior EIJ member lived in California in the mid-1990s.

A clandestine source said in 1998 that a Bin Ladin cell in New York was recruiting Muslim-American youth for attacks.

We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a Hanoi John F'in' al-Qerry service in 1998 saying that Bin Ladin wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the release of "Blind Shaykh" 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman and other US-held extremists.

Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

The FBI is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the US that it considers Bin Ladin-related. CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our Embassy in UAE in May saying that a group of Bin Ladin supporters was in the US planning attacks with explosives.

For the President Only 6 August 2001

This is a copy of the first page of newly released document of President Bush's August 6, 2001 briefing on terrorism threats made available Wednesday, April 10, 2004. The so-called presidential daily briefing, or PDB, was delivered to Bush on Aug. 6, 2001, a month before the Sept. 11 attacks. The declassified document is entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside the United States." (AP Photo/The White House)

	3:31 AM   0

Another only-liberal news outlet takes a crack at undermining the American people's resolve.

NEWS HEADLINES:

· Jailed Sept. 11 Suspect Freed Pending Retrial in Germany

· Former Enron CFO's Wife Withdraws Plea Bargain in Tax Case

· Kerry Says He Would Cap Federal Spending as President

· Human Rabies Vaccine Pulled After Live Virus Found in Samples

· Global Warming Threatens Greenland's Huge Ice Sheet

Inside This Story
Jump Below to Explore:
· How Dangerous Is al-Sadr?
· When Should Iraqis Take Over?
· Photos: The Struggle for Iraq

Share Thoughts: Post | Chat

---

Do you think the U.S. has control in Iraq?
[Add Your Vote(s)]

71%

No

29%

Yes

Total Votes: 45,944

 Note on Poll Results
[ * ]

In less than three months, the U.S. is set to transfer power to the Iraqis. But fighting in Iraq has been intense and bloody in the past few days. Some lawmakers say the violence should delay the transfer. Still, the Bush administration is sticking to the June 30 deadline and says the U.S. has control of the country. Do you feel we're in control?


[ * "NOTE: Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate. Poll results are not reflected in real time."]

OL may as well stand for "Aljazeera OnLine" or "Always Onthesideof Liberals" when it comes to the selective way it presents the news on its welcome screen. Always the most negative reports it can find about Iraq, the economy, or anything else involving the president specifically or Republicans in general. Being that Assinine Press and Roto-Reuters jazeernalists are the ones eagerly doodling out such reports, it's no wonder AOL invaribly selects no other sources for them.

The report below is the one that originally appeared early Wednesday evening at this AOL link. Later that evening AOL/AP changed the text some, editing out the most blatant speculations and unconfirmed assertions which were in the original, and inserting others. Then yesterday it substituted a new report by a completely different reporter (Alistair Lyon of Rubesters), entitled "U.S. Allies Under Pressure in Iraq," while retaining the lead-off above, the six "Struggle for Iraq" photos, and the three side polls.

U.S. Attacks Mosque Compound in Fallujah
By BASSEM MROUE and ABDUL-QADER SAADI

FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 7) - U.S. Marines battled insurgents for control of this Sunni Muslim stronghold Wednesday, calling in airstrikes against a mosque compound where witnesses said dozens were killed in six hours of fighting. An anti-U.S. uprising led by a radical Shiite cleric raged for the fourth day in southern cities.

We're destroying mosques! The places where followers of the Religion of Peace® worship. How terrible! I thought we were there to help these people—not show our typical intolerance by attacking their religious buildings and holy men. No wonder they're so anti-U.S. Shows why we're to blame for all that hatred they harbor toward us. (Did I miss anything, AOL?)

Insurgent essentially means rebel—a traitor. Seems it also includes those who directly participate or assist in the attack, murder, and mutilation of non-combatant civilians. Yeah, the kind of people AP or Reuters wouldn't mind seeing in control of the whole country that stronghold.

News in a Flash
See headlines in just 90 seconds from ABC News.
Watch Video

The Abdel-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque was hit by U.S. aircraft that launched a Hellfire missile at its minaret and dropped a 500-pound bomb on a wall surrounding the compound.

The U.S. military said insurgents were using the mosque for a military fire base. Iraqi witnesses estimated 40 people were killed as they gathered for afternoon prayers. U.S. officials said no civilians died.

As everyone knows (i.e, what AP wants everyone to know), Muslim prayers involve aiming weapons at soldiers who liberated the country from its former brutal dictatorship, and pulling the triggers.

How dare we intrude on their religious practices like that.

For anyone who doesn't know exactly what a minaret is, it's "a tall, slender tower on a mosque, having one or more projecting balconies from which a muezzin summons the people to prayer" (or to weapons firing—take your pick).

An Associated Press reporter who went to the mosque said the minaret was standing, but damaged, apparently by shrapnel. The bomb blew away part of a wall, opening an entry for the Marine assault. The reporter saw at least three cars leaving, each with a number of dead and wounded.

Carrying out dead and wounded prayers, no doubt, whom the Marines assaulted just because they were merely praying at them.

The heavy fighting against the Sunni insurgency coincided again Wednesday with attacks on coalition forces in southern Iraq led by militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. For the first time Wednesday, Shiite militiamen battled Americans in the central city of Baqouba.

AP wants to say "uprising" here so bad it can't stand it. Let's see how much self-control it has.

Who Is Al-Sadr?

AP

Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have battled U.S. troops this week. He wants Iraq controlled by Iraqis not connected with the U.S.
· Details | Main Shiite Leaders
Video: Profile (Broadband)

Sources: AP, CNN

---

How concerned are you about al-Sadr?
[Add Your Vote(s)]

53%

Very

26%

Somewhat

21%

Not at all

Total Votes: 23,230

 Note on Poll Results

Since Sunday, 34 Americans, two other coalition soldiers and more than 230 Iraqis have been killed in fighting. The Iraqi figure did not include those killed at the mosque. Since the war began, at least 630 U.S. service members have died.

Marine Corps spokesman 1st Lt. Eric Knapp said the American force besieging Fallujah has killed more than 30 suspected insurgents and captured 51 since Tuesday night. Fifteen Marines were reported killed in fighting in Fallujah and neighboring Ramadi since Monday.

But the U.S. figure conveniently includes non-battle related deaths and accidents. Just the lamestream media pulling out its one-side War Scoreboard™, showing only U.S. deaths. Not how many bad guys and evil-doers our forces killed, wounded, or captured. If instead of Terrorists 630/Goodguys ?, it showed Terrorists 630/Goodguys 23,420, AP probably wouldn't want to keep bringing it out so often.

The Pentagon ought to tell reporters that they won't receive any more press announcements regarding U.S. casualties unless their news organizations also state how many bad guys we got too. Betcha they'd stop keeping score like that, as if this were some game and lives were mere points but for only one team.

The Army said two more soldiers died Wednesday in separate attacks in Balad, a Sunni Triangle town north of Baghdad, and in the capital.

Yeah, but how many scumbags did our forces get there? AP only mentions our soldiers' deaths because it wants to say that the unmentioned "uprising" is spreading.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, at a Pentagon news conference with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers, discounted the strength of the al-Sadr force, which appears to have been bolstered by disgruntled, unemployed young men.

U.S. officials estimate the al-Sadr force at about 3,000 fighters.

Don't you need more fighters than that to be considered an "uprising"—"widespread" or otherwise?

"The number of people involved in those battles is relatively small," Rumsfeld said. "There's nothing like an army or large elements of people trying to change the situation. You have a small number of terrorists and militias coupled with some protests."

Myers said the fighting came in two broad categories. West of Baghdad in cities such as Ramadi and Fallujah, the main opposition is "former regime loyalists," including supporters of former president Saddam Hussein, and anti-American foreign fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born terrorist believed linked to al-Qaida.

Mainly the same bad guys who would be trying to kill Americans, especially defenseless civilians, elsewhere. Including in New York and San Francisco, were it not for our brave defenders ensuring that record benefits are being paid out on the Seventy-Two Virgins life insurance policies of these so-called martyrs over there.

The Marines said they waged a six-hour battle around the Abdel-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque before calling in a Cobra helicopter which fired the missile at the base of its minaret. An F-16 dropped the laser-guided bomb, Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne said.

During fighting elsewhere in Fallujah, U.S. forces seized a second place of prayer, the al-Muadidi mosque. A Marine climbed the minaret and fired on guerrilla gunmen, witnesses said. Insurgents fired back, hitting the minaret with rocket-propelled grenades and causing it to partially collapse, the AP reporter said.

Who's destroying whose mosques? The insurgents prayers themselves? Thought it was just us attacking and seizing all these religious buildings for apparently no reason other than people praying in them.

Self-Rule by June 30?

AP/Getty

President Bush stands by his June 30 deadline to transfer power to the Iraqis. But John Kerry says it's an arbitrary date that's been "affected by the election schedule."
· Bremer Says Iraq's 'on Track'
· Kerry Questions Deadline

Sources: AP, Reuters

---

When do you think sovereignty should be returned to Iraq?
[Add Your Vote(s)]

44%

No date should be set

30%

Now

26%

June 30

Total Votes: 22,281

 Note on Poll Results

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq, said the Marines did not attack the mosque until it became clear enemy fighters were inside and using it to cover their attacks.

Kimmitt told CNN that from photos of the mosque he had seen, "the actual mosque structure itself" was not damaged.

He said the mosque was protected under the Geneva Conventions but the insurgents nullified that by attacking from the holy place.

Only a Demobackstabberat like al-Qerry would call a promise "arbitrary": "I know I didn't come through on the middle- working-class tax cut I agreed to," he told reporters while dreaming he was president. "But that was an arbitrary cut that was affected by the elections."

Also seems we did have a reason for all that attacking and seizing. Bad guys cowardly hiding behind the real prayers in those mosques and using them as shields so they can fire at us and hope we wouldn't fire back. Believe that violates the terms of the 72V Life-Insurance Policy as well.

At Camp Fallujah, Byrne said the Marines now control 25 percent of Fallujah.

As opposed to AOL News controlling 0 percent of itself.

The military gave widely varying casualty counts.

Marine Capt. Bruce Frame, in a statement issued from U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., said: "One anti-coalition force member was killed in the attack. There is no report of civilian casualties."

Byrne said those in the mosque were rebels, and "We believe we killed a bunch."

Kimmitt said, "I understand there was a large casualty toll taken by the enemy."

No need to worry about causing a depletion of the virgins supply, however. Although the demand for eternal sulfur and brimstone will see an sharp increase from these mosque-cowering cowards.

Rumsfeld said the United States knew risks would increase with the approach of the June 30 date for the handover of power to an interim Iraqi government.

Forcing the bad guys to pack themselves all inside a relatively small triangle at the same time before that date means there won't be much of them coming out of it afterwards—courtesy the United States Marine Corps. That's a whole lot better than letting them scatter themselves across the country and pinpricking it to death over a period of several years.

U.S. commanders also fear violence could escalate during the religious ceremonies this weekend for al-Arbaeen, when millions of pilgrims gather in Shiite cities to mark the end of the mourning period for a 7th-century martyred Shiite saint.

Because the terrorists are wont to attack defenseless civilians whenever they peaceably assemble in such large numbers.

The number of U.S. troops in Iraq is up, Rumsfeld said, because of the planned rotation of forces.

"The United states will stay the course. We will stay until the task is complete," he said, warning that some U.S. troops ready to leave the country might have to stay a while longer.

Seeing how this "widespread uprising" is all but over after only a few days, those troops won't have to wait even that long before they leave.

Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said Iraq would become "another Vietnam" for the United States.

The Struggle for Iraq

Muhammed Muheisen, AP

Sunni insurgents patrol Fallujah, Iraq, Wednesday.
Video: Violence Spreading Across Iraq (broadband)

[<] (1 of 6) [>]

"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying army..." he said in a statement issued from his office in the southern city of Najaf. "Otherwise, Iraq will be another Vietnam for America and the occupiers."

Hey, that's exactly what Ted Kennedy said! Funny how the terrorists and Demonicrats always seem to wind up talking from the same page. (Similar pages.)

Photo 1 of 6: What prayers do when they aren't praying from mosques. The rest of the photos are below.

Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said Iraq would become "another Vietnam" for the United States.

The Struggle for Iraq

Spencer Platt, Getty

U.S. soldiers man a checkpoint in Baghdad's outskirts.
Video: Violence Spreading Across Iraq (broadband)

[<] (2 of 6) [>]

"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying army..." he said in a statement issued from his office in the southern city of Najaf. "Otherwise, Iraq will be another Vietnam for America and the occupiers."

Notice the total lack of the womanish head coverings seen in Photo 1. Perhaps those prayers had to cover up their faces so Allah wouldn't see their cowardly faces.

Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said Iraq would become "another Vietnam" for the United States.

The Struggle for Iraq

Ahmad al-Rubaye, AFP / Getty

Members of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr's militia chant anti-U.S. slogans Wednesday in Baghdad.
Video: Violence Spreading Across Iraq (broadband)

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"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying army..." he said in a statement issued from his office in the southern city of Najaf. "Otherwise, Iraq will be another Vietnam for America and the occupiers."

You'll have to take AP's word that that is what they were chanting.

"Hey, Bassem, I bet those prayers jumping up and down on that car are chanting anti-U.S. slogans." "How do you know, Abdul? Perhaps you're just projecting your own views, again." "No, no, I think they're really chanting anti-U.S. slogans!" "OK, we'll write that's what they're chanting. Who's going to say otherwise unless they have a recording and speak the language?" "Right!"

Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said Iraq would become "another Vietnam" for the United States.

The Struggle for Iraq

Cris Bournocle, AFP / Getty

U.S. Marines move against insurgents in Fallujah.
Video: Violence Spreading Across Iraq (broadband)

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"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying army..." he said in a statement issued from his office in the southern city of Najaf. "Otherwise, Iraq will be another Vietnam for America and the occupiers."

Ooh-rah! Don't give them a chance to start praying in your direction.

Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said Iraq would become "another Vietnam" for the United States.

The Struggle for Iraq

Ahmad Al-Rubaye, AFP / Getty

Men guard radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr's office Wednesday in the Sadr City area of Baghdad.
Video: Violence Spreading Across Iraq (broadband)

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"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying army..." he said in a statement issued from his office in the southern city of Najaf. "Otherwise, Iraq will be another Vietnam for America and the occupiers."

Not "Gunmen guard..."? That's the usual descriptive AP uses when referring to people who're toting around guns. Maybe the reporter thinks those aren't guns, but plastic AK-47s. At least it was nice of him to call them "men."

Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said Iraq would become "another Vietnam" for the United States.

The Struggle for Iraq

Akram Saleh, Reuters

A U.S. soldier watches vehicles Wednesday on a highway in the Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib.
Video: Violence Spreading Across Iraq (broadband)

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"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying army..." he said in a statement issued from his office in the southern city of Najaf. "Otherwise, Iraq will be another Vietnam for America and the occupiers."

One of the few and the proud, who's only "occupying" those hood-wearing terrorists (as in keeping them occupied with that mounted .50-caliber). That's the only real occupying they're doing over there.

God bless all Marines and our other extraordinarily brave soldiers.

Al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army launched heavy gunbattles with coalition forces in the streets of at least six cities Wednesday and, for the first time, in the north.

Iraqis protesting the Fallujah operation clashed with U.S. troops outside the northern city of Kirkuk. The battles left eight Iraqis dead and 10 wounded.

Differentiate, AP. Were those 18 just sitting around drinking beer or were they "praying" at our Marines? But that's not important to the reporters. They just want to convince you that the "uprising" is spreading.

Al-Sadr fighters battled American troops in the town of Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, hitting a U.S. helicopter with small arms fire. The OH-58 Kiowa chopper was damaged and forced to land, but the two crew members were unharmed.

And Shiite gunmen drove Ukrainian forces out of the southern city of Kut - raising concerns over the ability of U.S. allies to combat al-Sadr's uprising.

At last, the reporter got to say the U-word again. (Feel better, Abdul?)

Anyway, those Ukrainian good guys are now back, taking a huge bite out of the uprising's widespreadingness.

After overnight fighting in which 12 Iraqis died, the Ukrainians withdrew from Kut with about 20 coalition officials, and al-Sadr followers swept into their base, seized weapons stores and planted their flag on a nearby grain silo.

Black flag, to match the black burka-like hoods they're draping over their cowardly mugs.

The black-garbed gunmen of the al-Mahdi Army also had virtual control of the Shiite religious centers of Kufa and Karbala, where Iraqi police were laying low, allowing militiamen to move freely.

Militiamen in Karbala clashed with Polish patrols, and a cleric who was a senior official in al-Sadr's office was killed.

Cleric is a head prayer who leads others in praying from mosques at our Marines.

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Al-Sadr and his militia are unpopular among most of Iraq's Shiite majority, and there was no sign that the Shiite public in the south was rallying to their side to launch a wider uprising.
[ But... But... But... ]

But the week's fighting showed a strength that few expected from the al-Mahdi Army.

"The week's"? More like seven hours than seven days. But don't let that stop you from declaring it a "wider uprising," AP. You can print a correction later (not!).

As far as a clear plan on how to win this. Already done and already won. There were even rumblings of them not wanting to fight anymore when this report was originally published (after they got a good look at those Marines coming after them and quickly came to the realization that they were biting off much more than they ever would be able to chew):

The country's most respected Shiite leader was silent until Wednesday, when he called for all sides to stop fighting.

"Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani condemned the methods used by occupation forces in the current escalating situation in Iraq.

["]We also condemn assaults on public and private property, and any action that disturbs order and prevents officials from carrying out their duties," said a statement from Sistani's office.

Keeping the terrorists occupied with .50-caliber rounds was the order of the day. But we appreciate the GA coming to his senses anyway, if only for the sake of the real law-abiding, freedom-loving Iraqis.

But there were signs of sympathy for the Sadr revolt among Sunni insurgents, who have been fighting the U.S.-led occupation for months and have often chided their Shiite countrymen for not joining in.

Portraits of al-Sadr and graffiti praising his "valiant uprising" appeared on mosque and the walls of government buildings in the Sunni city of Ramadi. Peaceful protests in support of al-Sadr occurred in the northern cities of Mosul and Rashad.

Monday night in Baghdad, al-Sadr gunmen went to a mainly Sunni neighborhood to join with insurgents in firing on U.S. Humvees - the only known instance so far of Sunni and Shiite militants combining forces.

"But we want you to help us kill Americans before we start killing you, 's all. How come you won't? Look, we even spray painted 'valiant uprising' on our own mosques just to show you we're sincere. Really."

("How do you know it says 'valiant uprising,' Abdul?" "'Cause I just feel that it does, Bassem—and, besides, I know no one's going to be able to check out whether it does or not. See?" "Now I know why AP wanted to hire you so bad.")

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Also in Kut on Wednesday, an AP photographer and his driver were detained by armed al-Sadr militiamen who accused them of being "traitors." They were bound, blindfolded and taken to the al-Sadr office in Kut. There they were well-treated and given food.

That sadomasochism stuff was the "well-treated" part, according to the photographer. Getting food on top of that was just a bonus.

The accusation of treason was quickly dropped after the prayers discovered which news organization the photographer worked for.

The photograph knew a cleric in another city who vouched for the pair when called by their captors. The Sadrists then took the two, in the drivers' car, to a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, where they were freed.

An AP stringer in Karbala, meanwhile, was told to leave the city by al-Sadr's militiamen on Tuesday, and he has not been allowed to return.

04/07/04 18:10 EDT

The Associated Press.

"Hello, Grand Ayatollah? We got some traitor joooo-loving Zionist reporter-looking types tied up here. Do you want us to hold them as hostages for any of our crazy demands?" "Ask them if they hate the U.S....No, wait! Just ask them if they work for AP." "'Yes!' and 'Yes,' they say." "Then let them go, you burka-hooded dolts! Do you want the AP to stop loving us, too?" "They seemed to like the tying up part a lot." "Good, good. Tell them we knew they'd liked it and that's why you did it." "OK. Bye." "(Phew! that was close.)"

That stringer wasn't wanted because the terrorists didn't see any point in tying him up.

	9:44 PM   0